]]>https://partnersinternational.ca/ministry-reports/ministry-report-gfn-2017/feed/0https://partnersinternational.ca/ministry-reports/ministry-report-gfn-2017/Become an Agent of Change!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/partnerscanada/~3/RIc0lBLGet8/
https://partnersinternational.ca/news-and-updates/extraordinary-love/#respondFri, 22 Dec 2017 22:00:20 +0000https://partnersinternational.ca/?p=11480I want to ask you if you will join me in helping to transform the lives of children and their families – not just by providing education, water or food – but the word of God which truly changes whole communities.…

]]>I want to ask you if you will join me in helping to transform the lives of children and their families – not just by providing education, water or food – but the word of God which truly changes whole communities.

You and I, people who honestly care about bringing long-term change, know that change begins in the heart.

And we can be change agents.

Become a Partner with a specific community for as little as $24 a month. Join other Canadians who are supporting that community; Canadians who have committed to sharing their gifts as they continue on a journey to transformation. You can receive the personal story of the visionary leader within a community, their goals and the challenges they face.

Our work is very, very difficult.

We start with prayer – because true transformational change cannot happen without the power of God. We partner with Christian leaders who are a part of the community already – men and women called by God to bring the message of salvation to the men, women and children who live in their region.

We are building the Church of Jesus Christ heart by heart. In our experience, the very best way to do this is to live among the people, care for them and look for real ways to intersect with their lives. Our national leaders are well-prepared to do that because they have grown up in that culture. They understand the deep-rooted barriers to the Gospel.

In addition to providing pastoral leadership, national leaders work with community leaders to help transform the whole community. Each individual community is unique. But in almost all of our work, we see a mixture of education, health-care, agricultural support and helping build small businesses to support their families.

Canadian Partners have already saved young teen-aged girls who were caught in the sex trade. We have helped fathers and mothers find a skill so they could increase their daily pay. We have built schools and water wells, fed the hungry and brought medicines to the sick. And in each community, we share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

If you want to learn more about our national leaders please continue on to the profiles of just a few of our national leaders. Each one is different, impacting their own communities for Jesus Christ. When you partner with a national leader, you will learn about their region and be a part of the work they are doing.

I invite you to join me – be a Partner who is truly making a difference in the name of Jesus.

“I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” Isaiah 43:19

]]>https://partnersinternational.ca/news-and-updates/extraordinary-love/feed/0https://partnersinternational.ca/news-and-updates/extraordinary-love/Purus River Ministry becomes self-sustaining in just 2 years!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/partnerscanada/~3/L_cWyFfuo9E/
https://partnersinternational.ca/news-and-updates/purus-river-ministry-becomes-self-sustaining-just-2-years/#respondWed, 20 Dec 2017 17:13:46 +0000https://partnersinternational.ca/?p=11409Partners International comes along ministries around the world and partners with them to see their mission come to life and thrive. We have been working with Evangelical Mission for Assistance to Fishermen (EMAF) for 30 years. …

]]>Partners International comes along ministries around the world and partners with them to see their mission come to life and thrive. We have been working with Evangelical Mission for Assistance to Fishermen (EMAF) for 30 years. During that time we have seen this ministry grow exponentially.

For each ministry, we work with the ministry leaders and work to develop the funding to build the ministry. The ultimate goal is for ministries to become self-sustaining (with ongoing funding supplied by the people in the areas in which a ministry serves). The story of EMAF is an amazing God story. A five-year plan was put into action in 2016 and Praise God that plan was realized in just 2 years!

Please see a portion of EMAF’s Ministry Report from earlier this year and continue to pray for this emerging ministry.

Joint Ministry Results

Amazon Window – Purus River: The EMAF Amazon missionary team is reaching communities along the Purus River. Only 3% of the people living on it’s 3,000 kilometres have exposure to the Gospel. There are more than 1,220 unreached communities just in our target section of the river, between Pauini and Tapauá. It is sad to see these people living in darkness, facing physical, material and spiritual misery, overcome by fear and superstition – but all this will soon be changed! The Light of the Gospel is now shining upon that area, carried by the joint effort of Brazilians and North Americans.

EMAF’s initial strategy and the five-year plan for this area is bearing fruit. The strategy includes:

Surveying the area

Establishing four Missionary Bases along the river

Planting Churches + implementing Community Development on several tributaries

Training river people native to the area in order to spread the Gospel among the 10,000 still unreached communities of the Amazon Window.

By the grace and mercy of God, we have accomplished our five-year plan for the Purus River in 24 months!! I have had the privilege of helping to establish eleven main missionary bases during the past 36 years. I have seen many miracles along this journey but I have never seen a missionary structure reach over 1,000 communities just two years after its creation, especially while Brazil is going through its hardest political and financial crises ever! Crises don’t affect the Creator of the world and TOGETHER we can accomplish a lot or His kingdom – why not?

Timeline

2015

The area was surveyed and partnerships established by sharing the vision and recruiting missionaries

2016

Missionary training (two couples), spreading the vision, fundraising, recruiting new missionaries (seven others have joined the team) and the establishment of the main Missionary Base in Lábrea, the biggest town along the Purus. Oscar & Mariles are the Area Leaders

Establishment of the Administrative Council (AC) in Lábrea, with eight members. Each one of the ten main missionary bases of EMAF has an AC – a group of mature local believers to whom our Area Leaders are spiritually accountable and a place to find wisdom and support in order to expand the ministry in the target areas. The ACs are also one of the ways EMAF is accountable to the Brazilian Church, with regard to the vision, development of projects and finances.

At the end of the year, we received our first three boats. A used Catamaran, as a gift from a partner Brazilian missionary organization (refurbished with Canadian funds), and two other boats, both bought with funds raised in Canada, US and Brazil.

2017

Establishment of the second Missionary Base, in Pauiní, led by Eduardo & Donária, to spread the Gospel in that area. One of the area projects won a national prize and a grant from a large organization. We purchased a small used aluminium boat with a 15HP outboard engine for that team.

Another well-trained missionary couple (George & Gizelle) arrived from Manaus to join our team in Lábrea. They started the ministry along the Ituchi River, working to plant four churches.

Establishment of the Tapauá Base, through a partnership arranged by the area Adm. Council. We sent one of the single missionaries to Tapauá, who got a good support of a local mature Christian couple.

Five workers native to the area joined our team to help George & Gizelle

Arrival of another missionary couple in May along with their new baby

In June, we bought a used aluminium boat with a 40HP outboard engine for the team working along the Ituchi River, a ministry that is growing on a daily basis

João & Anne were sent to establish a new base in Canutama in July

In August, three new missionary couples and a single woman joined our team in Lábrea – they will get three months of training before joining our teams at the other bases. We bought a small used aluminium boat with a 15HP outboard for the base in Canutama. The first believers along the Ituchi River are praising the Lord with all of their hearts!

This report was provided to Partners International by Marcio & Damaris Gracia from Evangelical Mission for Assistance to Fishermen (EMAF) in Brazil.

Read on for a story from EMAF

Amazon mission bearing fruit

Many years ago a brave missionary woman broke through the darkness of the Ituxi River. She learned the Paumari language, led the translation of the New Testament, and took the Light of the Gospel to some Paumari communities. This missionary made some disciples, but the church was not established. Our missionaries working out of the Labrea’s base visited the Paumari community called Crispin. While sharing the Gospel they met Loyde & Maristela, a young couple with four children.

Loyde & Maristela were two of disciples of that missionary woman. They had remained faithful to the Lord throughout the years, but had no church in which worship. Loyde told us of their love for Jesus and that he had attended a two-year Bible Institute in the past, in Porto Velho. Oscar, our Area Leader, encouraged this couple and started a discipleship program with them. Loyde introduced us to a friend, Joseberto. Oscar baptised Joseberto’s wife and this couple also started to be discipled.

Loyde & Maristela have now moved from Crispin, to Ilha da Onça, a Paumari community with no believers. They are there to spread the Gospel in the community as missionaries. There is no school in Ilha da Onçam, so this is difficult for Loyde’s children, especially the oldest child. The area is also full of Malaria, creating health concerns for the family. Joseberto & his wife Raimunda are also going to go to a community with no believers. These are some of the first fruit of our ministry. We just held the first ever worker retreat of EMAF’s Purus team. There were nine Paumaris – all of them being trained to reach places where the currently in no availability to the Gospel. We hope to be able to honour the effort of the past Christians who died on that river, taking the Gospel to the Paumaris.

]]>https://partnersinternational.ca/news-and-updates/purus-river-ministry-becomes-self-sustaining-just-2-years/feed/0https://partnersinternational.ca/news-and-updates/purus-river-ministry-becomes-self-sustaining-just-2-years/Holistic Community Development is Changing Lives!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/partnerscanada/~3/LQq_iNUjYd0/
https://partnersinternational.ca/national-worker-stories/holistic-community-development/#respondTue, 05 Dec 2017 21:45:55 +0000https://partnersinternational.ca/?p=10564Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.1 John 3:18

At Partners International it is our desire to come alongside leaders in their own towns, in their own countries, and help them achieve the vision that God has laid on their hearts.…

]]>Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3:18

At Partners International it is our desire to come alongside leaders in their own towns, in their own countries, and help them achieve the vision that God has laid on their hearts.

We collaborate in order to transform communities, working with our international partners in areas where hope, help and resources are hard to find. We work with leaders to develop their proposals and start to build long-term relationships in order to show the love of Jesus in their community.

When it comes to real transformation, one of the programs in which Partners International participates is called “Adopt A Village”. Basically, this program helps to bring specific community development that a particular community needs. In this model, a couple is hand-picked for a specific community receives a combination of discipleship and community development training. They then research that community and move into the area in which they will serve.

Over a period of five to seven years, they initiate development programs tailor-made for their community. It may be as simple as setting up a preschool or digging an ‘arsenic-proof’ tube well for the community. They may even start savings groups or organize community-wide agricultural cooperatives.

As each initiative is implemented, the couple continues to model both Christian family values and a preferable, achievable, lifestyle through things like adopting better sanitation practices, building technology, agricultural practices, and training their neighbours how to do the same for their families. As each couple integrates into their community and wins the goodwill of the people, they are able to share their faith in a very natural way. In every case, a church is established for which the couple provides pastoral leadership.

This concept is not a “one and done” approach, each of these communities is truly transformed by a program that checks all the boxes for sustainable growth and ongoing development. The difference in an Adopt A Village community becomes very noticeable in a short period of time.

People are happy because they have a place to send their young children to school. Diseases like arsenic poisoning begin to disappear, and all of these initiatives enable families to improve their lives, helping them to leave extreme poverty behind because each family’s bread-winners are now more physically capable to earn an income.

Savings groups enable people to prosper, providing families with funds to deal with emergencies, grow their businesses, and provide for higher education for their children. Since no money is loaned by our ministry in savings groups, (it’s all people’s own savings), the community realizes that we are not trying to make money off of them. The end product is that the church can grow and be accepted in areas where the majority of people are non-Christians. This is really important in many places where Christians and the church can be places of isolation and persecution.

This particular program is designed to have high-involvement from our National Workers. It is time-defined, with clear partnership goals, regular communication, and accountability. The beauty of programs that we help to establish is that they are run by our National Workers who are fully invested in the villages where they choose to live.

When you sign up to “Support a National” your gift provides for the journey that our workers, and their families, are ready to take on or “Adopt A Village” and that supports a number of the initiatives within a specific community. As Canadians, we are so blessed, and many people have expressed interest in walking alongside a ministry couple through their journey from before they join the program to that of community transformation.

We are so grateful for all of you who support people and programs through Partners International. Your generosity helping to build God’s Kingdom!

]]>https://partnersinternational.ca/ministry-reports/ministry-report-christian-foundation-chrisfon-pakistan/Ever thought about what makes a gift a great gift?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/partnerscanada/~3/0P3ZE9HouMY/
https://partnersinternational.ca/children/what-makes-gift-great-gift/#respondMon, 30 Oct 2017 18:02:20 +0000https://partnersinternational.ca/?p=10398Have you thought about what makes a gift a great gift? With Christmas approaching, we all will be making those difficult choices and hopefully be buying our loved ones good gifts.

Some of our child sponsors also want to brighten the Christmas of their sponsored child, and on occasion will mail them a token of their affection to remind them that despite the distance, they are loved.…

]]>Have you thought about what makes a gift a great gift? With Christmas approaching, we all will be making those difficult choices and hopefully be buying our loved ones good gifts.

Some of our child sponsors also want to brighten the Christmas of their sponsored child, and on occasion will mail them a token of their affection to remind them that despite the distance, they are loved. Lately, I have been thinking about what a good gift would look like for a sponsored child.

Young Mercy, in Liberia, will get a notebook and a stuffed animal bought at the dollar store by her Canadian sponsor. Mercy lives with 22 other young girls in a house in the middle of the jungle in Liberia. This is a remote location, where there is no hydro or internet. If the children had remained in their own villages, at the very least, they would have been vulnerable to diseases and would remain illiterate. In order for these girls to continue their education, they live at the girl’s home. Because these girls are living in extreme poverty, they are at higher risk of becoming pregnant at a young age too.

Mercy’s new notebook and stuffed animal are lovely gifts. The fact that her sponsor thought about her and wanted to bless her with a Christmas gift is truly wonderful. It would be an easy choice for any of us to make for our sponsored children.

Our sponsored children live in really basic living conditions. Although our children’s everyday needs are provided for, there are not a lot of frills for the majority of our ministries and the children that reside in these homes. Their surrounding communities are struggling to survive just as much as our children’s homes.

What if we changed the way that we thought about gift-giving for our sponsored children? What if we took the $5 we spent on the notebook and bear, the $2 for the gift wrap, the $5-$10 for the postage and gave the same amount as a donation. A contribution to the ministry for them to purchase enough presents for all the children at the home, something that raises their standard of living just a little bit. And in turn, the home supports the businesses in their area, so that the struggles of others are lessened by the financial support.

So, what if those who feel led to give Christmas gifts, gave towards a Christmas fund for the girl’s home? With all the contributions together, the House Manager, Selina would be able to plan a Christmas party for the girls. She would travel to town to purchase flour and other ingredients for the special event. She would purchase ALL the girls a new blanket, a luxury item in their current situation, that the ministry and the children would otherwise not be able to afford. Although this gift might not look like an exciting Christmas gift to us, it would be very useful and needed, and it would provide a boost to all of their spirits and bring them joy.

This potential alternative makes sure that no girl is left out and feeling sad because her sponsor didn’t send a Christmas gift. The small businesses in town are grateful for the influx to their businesses. Their increase in sales helps them to provide for their own families. Your gift could potentially change the lives of a number of people within a poverty-stricken area, just by giving a gift to your sponsored child.

Please know that I’ve been thinking about how to help my own sponsored child and I wanted to share what I’ve been realizing my own journey as a sponsor. I don’t want to discourage you from blessing your sponsored child with a Christmas gift. I just wanted to provide a potential alternative that could not only improve your child’s conditions but that of their community too.

This Christmas I invite you to consider what giving a good gift would look like for those you want to bless with a reminder of your love and care for them. If you are considering blessing your sponsored child, please consider giving a gift that will be meaningful not only to your sponsored child but potentially to so many more people too. A gift that will bless other children at the home, empower local businesses, and continue to help us in building more sustainable communities around the Globe.

Your ongoing support for your child is very much appreciated! You are impacting their lives, in their present and their future, in ways you will never be able to fully realize.

I pray that God blesses you and your family as we move closer to Christmas. Thank you for letting me talk to you about what could have been a very sensitive issue. Many thanks for your taking the time to read this missive.